Close Enough
by musicgirl1068
Summary: Gabe always knew that his words would never be enough for door to stay closed and for her to stay. From sitting in silence with the gloomy weather, to talking about purple roses given to grandmothers, Gabe reveled in the last moments before her car, that would take her away from Denver (away from him), showed up. (Or: the last day before Jo left Denver.)


**First fic yay! Reviews are welcomed, I'm trying improve writing!**

 **Alrighty, enough about me, enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

The weather had quickly gone from a light spitting to a heavy downpour. The smell of rain and the chill of the wind drifted in from the open window.

Gabe looked at her, she was sitting on his desk, and found her staring out at the rain.

"I have never seen you so deep in thought," he said from his spot on his bed.

There was no response, but he knew his comment was heard from the small smile that managed to make its way onto her lips.

Recently, they didn't have much care for words; today, it honestly felt like they didn't speak. Maybe they ran out of things to say, or maybe they didn't want to talk, or maybe they felt that they didn't need to.

Or maybe they were finally allowing reality to catch up and crash down on them.

Gabe didn't need to look at the clock; he knew her car was set to arrive soon.

"My grandmother had a figurine," she broke the silence that had engulf them for the past twenty minutes.

Not knowing how to respond, he simply waited for her to continue.

"It was a glass rose, a purple rose. She said my grandfather gave it to her before they started dating," she explained.

She had a thoughtful look on her face that he, secretly, loved; it painted her in such a peaceful light.

He felt his heart twist uncomfortably when he remembered that this was the last time he was going to see that look.

"She treasured it greatly," she continued on, "she never let it get damage, and took exceptional care in making it sure it stayed as spotless as the day she received it."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked, his voice slightly agitated. He didn't mean for it come out that way, but he didn't understand why they were talking about this when they, and all their talks, would be coming to an end very soon.

She shrugged in a manner that was like her, but not at the same time. "I didn't want us to finish in silence," she said after a moment.

He looked at her and they locked eyes. There was a moment when the soft howling of the wind and the drumming of the rain was the only noise between them. Their eyes spoke the things that they never said, and for that moment it was okay that they never said them. It was only him and her and everything that they were.

Gabe wanted to stop time, he didn't want the moment to end. He wanted to prolong it, prolong them, for as long as he could, he wanted to put it in his pocket and save it for another rainy day.

He just wanted her to stay.

 _Honk! Honk!_

The moment ended, much to his dismay, and reality came flooding in.

"That's my ride," she said and slid off his table.

He got up as well and accompanied her downstairs. Every step they took closer to the door, the more his chest twisted painfully.

From the front window they could see their mothers and his sister talking and they could hear them from the other side of the front door.

That's where they paused. She turned back to look at him and he gazed down at her. They were both painfully aware that the door was the last line of defence between them and reality.

He wanted to say something, he so desperately wanted to tell her the things he never told her, the feelings she gave him, the things that she deserved to hear.

But he rationally—a trait of his that came in the worse moments—ruled that it wouldn't make a difference.

Because he always knew that his words would never stop the door from opening.

Instead, he settled for cupping her cheek; his fingers against her ear and his thumb against her cheek. He briefly wondered why she didn't pull away, or why she didn't make any protests when he brushed his thumb gently across her cheek.

Somewhere, in the back of his head, he heard a voice telling him that they were just kids, only thirteen year olds who knew nothing of feelings and love.

On some level, he understood. They were just kids who were inexperienced with the concept of feeling past infatuation.

Her sigh brought him out of his thoughts and she pulled away from his touch. She turned and reached for the door. She stopped after she opened it; the sound of their mothers and his sister talking outside flowed in.

When she turned to him for the last time, he found his voice, "I guess I'll see you."

A bittersweet smile graced her lips. "I doubt so, but see you, stupid," she closed the door behind her after the nickname she gave him left her lips.

He stared at the door a few moments longer before retreating back to his room. He shut the door behind him and collapsed on his bed, not caring that the rain was getting in from the open window, and not caring when the wind came in and chilled him to the bone.

The only part he cared about was the sound of a car starting its engine and driving away.

He blocked out everything else after he couldn't hear it anymore.

.

.

He knew it wasn't love.

.

.

But it was close enough.

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 **Wow, that was angsty**

 **Not sure if I'll write a continuation of this, it kind of works as a stand alone, but I'll see. If you guys would like a continuation of this please let me know in the reviews!**

 **Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!**


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